HADDAD | DRUGAN

Elemental Landscape marks the 80 acre Southern Community Park with a series of art installations, connected by their use of circular forms and materials salvaged during park construction. Each piece is activated by a specific natural element. Markers at each piece link the installation to a contextual place expressing the same element.

Construction will be complete in the Summer of 2008

Water: Concentric stone rings at various elevations in a wetland bowl, measuring water levels.

Earth: A sculpted mound of soil.

Air: An open ring of boulders enclosed by meadow grasses that dance in the wind.

Fire: A ladder in the woods referencing places where slaves once worshipped—secret congregations in the woods and church galleries accessed by ladders. Colored plexiglass filtering sunlight suggests stained glass, and a circle of ash around the ladder alludes to the burning of New Hope Chapel.

Fauna: Birdhouses built by students of the nearby Scroggs Elementary School, mounted to the tops of tall stained poles and marking a seasonal creek.

Flora: Woodland plants with different blooming times planted in concentric rings, then naturalizing so eventually the rings are indiscernible.

Oak and Pine Datum: A ring of oak logs in a hardwood lowland and a ring of pine logs in a pine upland, of equal diameter, allowed to decay over time, manifesting their varied surroundings and longevity of wood.